ES versus BC light bulbs

Apart from when it is still too hot to hold :-)

That's just a matter of how well travelled you are:

I have a light fitting I rather like that had a decoglobe bulb. They are about 4" in diameter and attractive in appearance (to me) And a victim of the efficiency drive for bulbs.

Did eventually find an LED replacement, but ES only. And you'd think ES pendant bulb holders would therefore be easy to source. But places like TLC don't stock them - only BC.

Easy enough to make a tungsten bulb with a very long life. But the efficiency will be low - and any bulb uses a vastly larger sum in energy costs throughout its life than it costs.

Ever heard the expression penny wise, pound foolish, Jim? Describes you to a T.

Fine if you have an IKEA handy. Last time I looked non of the sheds, TS and SF, or TLC sold pendant ES.

Being pendantic ;-) think you're talking of a batten holder. A ceiling rose is part of a pendant fitting - so could be the same for BC and ES.

I thought that was because most places using ES loop at the switch.

As I also thought was becoming more common here (at least for the more superior new builds/rewires).

Then you have clearly never been to Hong Kong.

I clearly have not.

Years ago, when London Transport underground trains had exposed lights, they used ES bulbs so people didn't pinch them.

Indeed, so then it's necessary to get the socket and fiddle with tiny push-in connectors, as mentioned up thread.

Oops - you're right, of course. I'd like to replace some BHs but I'm not doing a rewire of both circuits to loop at the switch!

Apart from the original reduction in life from 2500 hours to 1000 (whenever that was), I remember when 2000 hour bulbs came in; they weren't really worth it as the "standard" bulbs were heavily discounted.

In Soviet Russia, there was a market in *blown* light bulbs so people could swap them for working ones in public places.

Or even to Eire, Singapore, Malaysia, Malta etc either.

Have you been to anywhere except South Africa ?

All over Europe and the Americas.

Not Asia though.

Eire I don't really consider as foreign. I should of course.

The main problem is keeping too many expensive light bulbs as spares. Once upon a time they cost £1 for a multipack but now it's upwards of £5 each.

If ES and BC fittings are of equal merit and if ES is continuing to gain market share then it's probably simpler change all pendant lamp holders in the house to ES.

There used to be some little BC to ES adaptors but I think they were withdrawn for safety reasons.

Isn?t the voltage different too?

Tim

SA uses our old 15A plugs and sockets

No, you can still buy them (including from IKEA until recently)

Indeed. But we were not discussing that. it was the 13A squares.

Seems its not uncommon in the anglospheric part of Asia.

But US and European style two pins with earth as an after thought predominate